Annotaties c. 1915 - 1916

This page of annotations was made by George Hendrik Breitner sometime during his lifetime from 1857 to 1923. The soft, grey-blue writing sprawls across the page, full of the artist's jottings. I imagine him, sitting in a cafe, maybe, or on a train, whipping out this notebook to record some fleeting thoughts. You know, it’s kind of great when you see an artist’s notes. It’s like getting a peek inside their head. I think Breitner is noting down the dimensions of paintings he saw in museums. It’s super practical, but it’s also kind of beautiful, the way he captures the information in his unique script. Breitner was known for his street scenes of Amsterdam, so he must have looked at and admired a lot of other artists. What's interesting is how artists build upon the work of others. We are always in conversation. Anyway, isn’t it nice to see these scribbles and imagine what might have been going on in the artist’s mind?